Carriers Adding More Affordable LTE Phones

New York – Carriers AT&T and Verizon and MVNO Consumer Cellular focused on affordable smartphones in their latest product launches.

AT&T plans Oct 10 availability in its stores of the Moto G LTE at only $179 without contract, or $7.50/month on the Next18 installment/trade-up payment plan and $9/month on the Next12 plan.

Verizon today began offering the LTE-equipped HTC Desire 612 through its online store on an exclusive basis. The price is free with two-year contract or $299 without. On the installment plan, the phone costs $14.99/month for 20 months.

For its part, MVNO Consumer Cellular has begun rolling out its largest scree smartphone to date, the LTE-equipped Huawei Ascend Mate 2 with 6.1-inch 1280x720 display at $250. The company is also rolling out Huawei’s 3G Vision 2 with 4-inch screen at $100.

The introductions coincide with HTC’s unveiling yesterday of the LTE-equipped selfie-optimized Desire Eye phone with 5.2-inch 1080p display and two 13-megapixel cameras. It will be launched soon exclusively through AT&T.

The smartphone growth area in the U.S. has been in “value devices,” said Nigel Newby-House, executive director of HTC’s North American product strategy and planning.

Here’s what AT&T, Verizon and Consumer Cellular are offering:

AT&T: The carrier positions the Moto G LTE as “a budget-friendly smartphone for people who don’t want to compromise on quality, style, or experiences.”

Consumer Cellular: The MVNO, which targets the over-50 crowd with no-contract postpaid plans, is launching two Huawei Android smartphones, both with an Easy Mode, described as an intuitive interface option “to make adoption easier for new smartphone users.”

Easy Mode offers a simpler user interface compared to the standard Android OS, enabling users to scroll between windows, access apps quickly and customize the home screen. Once they get comfortable with Easy Mode, customers can opt to choose the standard Android UI, the MVNO said.